SMITHFIELD – Did you ever wonder what happened after “happily ever after” in all those old fairy tales?
Apparently, so did the late Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim. That’s why he wrote the musical Into the Woods, the next offering from the Four Seasons Theatre Company here in Smithfield.
The musical’s book by James Lapine cleverly intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales to explore the unintended consequences of their characters’ wishes. The main characters are lifted from “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Jack and the Beanstalk,” “Cinderella,” “Rapunzel” and several other well-known tales.
The musical is tied together by a story involving a childless baker and his wife on a quest to begin a family, a neighborhood Witch who has placed a curse on them and their interactions with other storybook characters during nights in the forest.
In the show’s first act, the lives of its characters are complicated by modern-day concerns about insecurity, infidelity and even mental illness. In its second act, Into the Woods delivers a powerful message about being careful what you wish for when chickens come home to roost.
As usual with Four Seasons productions, the cast of Into the Woods will feature several faces familiar to local audiences.
The versatile Claire Francis will appear as Rapunzel, who suffers from psychological trauma after her long sojourn in the tower. Ms. Francis recently delivered a stunning performance as the drunken innkeeper Thenardier in the second annual Utah Festival Conservatory production of Les Misérables.
The aforementioned neighborhood Witch will be played by Lauren Kian, who may be typecast having played Glinda the Good Witch of the North in the recent Four Seasons’ production of The Wizard of Oz.
After spending most of that show hunched over as the puppeteer who animated Toto, Clifton Richards will get to straighten up – literally, but not figuratively — as the dastardly Wolf in Into the Woods. Also from The Wizard of Oz, where he starred as the Scarecrow, Dallin Clark will appear as Cinderella’s charming — but not necessarily faithful – prince.
The cast will also include Dallin and Baylie Hendry as the Baker and his wife; Patrice Densley as Cinderella; Jessica Christensen as Little Red; Tanner Doyle as Jack; Daniel Francis as the Narrator; Logan Kelley as Milky White, the cow; and Marianne Sidwell was the Giant.
Others in the cast will include Amanda Madsen, Megan Nelson, Camille Trappett, Katie Ludlow, Nathan Scott, Jennifer Bohman, Bennett Floyd and Melissa Hamilton.
Evening performances of Into the Wood are slated for Sept. 22, 23, 25 28, and 30, as well as Oct. 2, 5 and 6. Matinees performances will be presented on Sept. 23, 30 and Oct. 7.
All performances will be staged at Shy View High School in Smithfield.
Tickets can be obtained by going online to www.fourseasonstheatre.org